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I've lost track of the number of safeties the Lions have shown varying amounts of interest this past off season. Some they ended up signing. Currently there's 7 safeties on the roster not named Louis Delmas.
Listed not by talent, but in alphabetical order: C.C. Brown, Daniel Bullocks, Johnathan Hefney, Marquand Manuel, Randy Phillips, Ko Simpson and Marvin White.
Combine those 7 together, and you might have a serviceable partner for Delmas, a Pro Bowler in the making. So the Lions continue with their never-ending search through the bowels of the NFL for a safety, which leads us to the following news.
Reports are surfacing the latest name thrown in the Lions' safety hopper is the Chiefs' very unhappy restricted free agent, free safety Jarrad Page.
Apparently Page knows how to use his head...
The good about Page? The former 2006 7th round pick has been a starter in Chiefs' defensive backfield for the past 3 seasons. The bad about Page? He's a starter on one of the NFL's worst defenses.
As the Chiefs went safety crazy in the 2010 draft, picking the can't miss (according to the Kipers of the world) Eric Berry in the 1st round, and Kendrick Lewis in the 5th (What is it with bad teams having a safety fetish?), they are in no hurry to do anything with their AWOL safety. In fact, the Kansas City Star reported Page was unlikely to win a job in 2010.
Jarrad Page has been missing, but with the Chiefs drafting a pair of safeties, his chances of making the roster by now are remote at best.
But it's worth noting Page put up solid numbers in his first 3 seasons (10 INT, 179 tackles), before being derailed in 2009 by a calf injury. The injury ultimately ended his season after game 7 by his being placed on IR.
Since the season ended, Page hasn't wanted anything to do with the Chiefs. Most recently, he refused to participate in the Chiefs' OTA's, and formally requested a trade about 3 weeks ago.
Page is available for the taking, and I doubt it will take much more than a low 3rd day draft pick in trade to get him. The Lions could wait for the inevitable, that being Chiefs finally cutting him, but that opens up Page's availability to the rest of the NFL.Which is why a trade is the probable scenario if the Lions move forward.
I'm getting the feeling the Lions feel if they figuratively keep throwing crap against the wall by adding safeties to the roster, one of them will literally stick.
Hey, what's one more safety on the training camp roster? Add 2 more and the Lions will have a 2 deep basketball team...too bad we're talking football.
I was stunned. flabbergasted and had to double check my calendar to make sure it really was 2010, when I saw the following Lions press release in my inbox:
DETROIT LIONS SIGN CB DRE BLY
The Detroit Lions announced today that they have signed unrestricted free agent CB Dre Bly to a two-year deal. Additional contract terms were not disclosed. Bly returns to Detroit where he played four seasons for the Lions after originally signing as an unrestricted free agent in 2003.
You read that correctly. You are not seeing things. This is not a hallucination.
Bly was a playmaker...a long, long time ago.
Dre Bly, Matt Millen's prize free agent pickup, who played well for for a season or so, made 2 Pro Bowls (but only deserved to make it once, in 2003), then became a locker room cancer and a quite vocal malcontent, all but stealing contract money in the his final 2 seasons with the Lions (Millen had signed Bly to a 5 year, $22M deal) is a Lion.
The Detorit News conveniently reminds us of one of Bly's rants...
"Mooch isn't a bad coach," Bly said. "He just took a bad rap in Detroit. Just the guys that were (drafted) in Detroit, they didn't really develop and he took the heat, which at the end of the day it's not all the coach's fault.
"At some point, the player has to be responsible, and when you get taken high, you have to be accountable also. Mooch can't make somebody motivated, so he took the wrath."
For what it's worth, when Bly said, "They didn't really develop," he was all but physically pointing a finger at Joey Harrington.
Bly's bitching ultimately led to being traded for a couple of washed up stiffs. For those of you with a short memory, the Lions traded Bly to the Broncos back in March of 2007.
The Detroit Lions have agreed to send cornerback Dre' Bly to the Denver Broncos in exchange for running back Tatum Bell, tackle George Foster and a draft choice, believed to be a fifth-round pick.
Uh...yeah. That trade really worked out well for the Lions. (And I thought I'd never have to hear George Foster's name ever again...)
Bly agreed to a 5 year, $33M deal with the Broncos after the trade was official. He was waived after the 2008 season, and spent 2009 with the Niners. Bly became a free agent again at the end of the past season. The former Pro Bowler never had the same success he had earlier in his career with the Rams and Lions. Then again, he's now 33 years old, an age when most corners are in a retirement home.
I'm not expecting much from the return of Bly, who is a journeyman at this point of his career, save for pithy quotes after games. Of course, now that the Lions are once again his employers, Bly is saying all the right things.
"Delmas, I've heard he's an enthusiastic player, energetic, talks just like I talk, and he's a great guy to be around," Bly said.
"I've also heard the attitude of the team is completely different. I felt like I was a part of the community when I was there in Detroit. I always felt like I was family. I had a great relationship with the people upstairs, the administrators, people that worked around the facility."
Revisionist history on the part of Bly, obviously. But what else do you expect him to say? "Fire Millen?"
I doubt Bly makes through both years of the contract. He never was a big hitter, but was a solid cover guy back in the day. Bly could prove to be a serviceable backup, a dime/nickel guy. Or he may not even make it out of camp. He is 33, after all.
Dipping back into the past to re-sign a former player rarely works out well. Definitely not in the long-term. But much as "Mars Needs Women" and "Uncle Sam Wants You," the Lions both NEED and WANT cornerbacks.
Thus, the return of Dre Bly to the scene of the crime.
The Detroit Lions have agreed to terms with wide receiver Tim Toone, the seventh-round pick dubbed Mr. Irrelevant as the final choice in the 2010 NFL draft.
Tim Toone wants to be more than a dreadlocked sideshow....
When a certain porn 'stached moron was running the team, I'd say the signing of a low 7th round pick was a utter non-event, as that player was a likely to make the Lions as I would be.
But going by Martin Mayhew's draft track record, I'm not going to write off any of his selections. Even the last pick of the draft. The Lions got on-field contributions from 9 of their 10 draft picks last season. The one pick who didn't, OT Lydon Murtha, was plucked off the practice squad by the Fins. When you bat .1000 in the draft, and all your picks make NFL rosters, you've done your job well.
Mayhew and his draft selections will get the benefit of the doubt from me. So no snark...in this post, anyway.
Mr. Irrelevant's deal means only the two 1st round picks, Ndamukong Suh and Jahvid Best, have yet to sign NFL contracts.
This week's question for the Lions Congregation comes from Marko T.:
"What do you think of the recent fights at OTAs and Minicamp? What does that say about the team and it's direction? I'm not sure if I should be happy or not."
This is what I said about the whole sad situation the day after it went down:
"Is there anything sillier than helmet and shoulder pad wearing football players fighting? (Other than Marty Mornhinweg riding off on a Harley after stopping practice, nothing.) Schwartz didn't see the humor. To make his point about the lack of discipline even sharper, and to get across his extreme displeasure, Schwartz is going to fine every and any one involved in the practice skirmishes."
After reflecting a little more on the silliness of large, sweaty, padded men wrestling in sweltering heat, there's only one thing I like about it. How Schwartz handled the whole affair. He dealt out fines to anyone and everyone involved, and all but said if it happens again, the punishment will be more severe than having to write a large check.
It'll likely mean their jobs.
We've heard it all before. We all remember Bobby Ross' weekly claim he's be handing "bus tickets out of town." But in Schwartz's case, I tend to believe his threats. He has the full backing of the front office, and' it's not as if the Lions have been winning big with the punch throwers. So Schwartz really doesn't have anything to lose...other than the respect of the players if he doesn't follow up on his threats.
Ross never handed out those bus tickets, and the players never took him seriously.
I don't think that will be a problem with Jim Schwartz.
If you have a Lions question you'd like to see answered, you can email the congregation at
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As always, to read the rest of the Lions blogosphere answering Joshua's, aka DetFan79, questions, head over to Roar of the Lions every Friday!
The Lions signed place-kicker Aaron Pettrey, an undrafted rookie free agent out of Ohio State, to a one-year contract, adding another specialist to their roster for training camp next month. Pettrey's agent, Glenn Schwartzmann, confirmed the deal Thursday.
All this signing means is Jason Hanson won't have to make all the kicks in training camp, and can save his leg for the regular season. I'd venture a guess the Lions believe last season's off year for Hanson was just that, and expect him (as do I) to bounce back in 2010.
The job is Hanson's as long as his kickoff distance and field goal percentage are respectable.
The Detroit Lions have confirmed that third-round draft pick (No. 66 overall) Amari Spievey has agreed to a 3-year contract, according to a source within the organization.
There's no word as to the dollars involved or if Tom Lewand was intoxicated during negotiations.
The Lions have inked a player who is likely to be starting at cornerback before the end of the season. Then again, after looking at the depth chart, it's possible Spivey will be named a starter before the end of training camp.
Spivey is the third draft pick to sign a contract in the last week. Last Friday, 4th round pick Jason Fox agreed to terms. 7th round selection Willie Young signed on the line that is dotted this past Monday.
Remember, it's pronounced "Spev-ay", not "Spy-vee."
Despite the campaigning of boneheaded Drew Sharp at the Freep, highly paid and very unhappy Redskins DT Albert Haynesworth won't be highly paid and very unhappy with the Lions.
Apparently, the Lions have moved on and are no longer interested in trading for the constantly complaining lineman.
The Detroit Lions, once believed to be interested in trading for Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth, no longer consider that an option, a team source said Wednesday.
Why wouldn't the Lions want a defensive tackle who has the talent to dominate? Even though the Redskins will have paid off the most expensive parts of his contract? Because they have Ndamukong Suh.
But it's not due to the Lions' brass believing they don't have a need for Haynesworth. It's due to Martin Mayhew not wanting a knucklehead influencing the Lions' young stud in the wrong way.
Lions general manager Martin Mayhew has serious concerns about the kind of influence that Haynesworth could become, according to the source.
"Even though Suh is his own man, we don't want any negative influences around him," the source said.
The Lions are enforcing a "No knuckleheads allowed" rule in the clubhouse. It's not a bad policy to have, actually.
In the final paragraph of the above linked column, Sharp brings up the "negative influence" factor, calling it "nonsense."
It's also nonsense being afraid about taking a chance out of concerns that Haynesworth could be a negative influence on rookie defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh.
In regard to many athletes, I might actually agree with Sharp. But the Lions have Jim Schwartz on the sidelines, who coached Haynesworth with the Titans. If Schwartz really wanted Hanyesworth, and vouched he could handle his knucklehead tendencies, I'm positive Mayhew would acquiesce and work out a trade with the 'Skins.
But neither has happened.
Who better to know how someone like Haynesworth would rub off on a rookie than his former defensive coordinator?
So who to believe? A columnist known to throw shit on the wall, hoping it sticks, or the man who coached Haynesworth for several years? Hmmmm...
I'm sure this Haynewsworth incident is still fresh in Schwartz's memory...
How soon guys like Sharp forget.
If Schwartz doesn't want Haynesworth anywhere near Suh, that's good enough for me.
Consider this a blogging palate cleanser, as the current news cycle is being dominated by the Tom Lewand DUI. Let's stick to Lions football for at least one post.
Via the Freep, the Lions have announced the waiving of recently signed kicker Justin Medlock and guard Kurt Quarterman. To be honest, neither is a move of any great importance. About the only thing I can say is when I heard Medlock's name, only one thing came to mind...and it wasn't about football. What did come to mind was the old school southern rock band Blackfoot, and their song "Train, Train," written by one Shorty Medlocke.
Blue and Silver Pride looks at the not so good economic conditions here in Detroit (Will the economy ever improve? Even my Magic 8 call can't say for sure.), and how it may affect the Lions.
FoxSports.com lists the top 100 players in the NFL. As the list is in a PITA format (slideshow, starting at player 100), Lions Gab saves us the trouble, and finds the only Lion on the list. It's Calvin Johnson at number 70.
And that's about it. We really are in a dead time for the NFL, there isn't much to comment on...which is one reason (of several, he is a relatively high profile football executive, after all) the Lewand incident is getting so much play.
9 & 10 News out of the Cadillac-Traverse City region of northern Michigan has the police dashboard recording of Tom Lewand's drunk driving arrest. (Click here for the video)
It also turns out Lewand has been dealing with an alcohol problem for quite some time. An unnamed source told the Freep Lewand "had been in treatment for alcohol abuse for several months."
From watching 9 & 10 News' video of the arrest, edited down to 1:50, Lewand's SUV was visibly weaving going down the road. There's no problem with his being pulled over, despite talk the Roscommon Sheriff's Department is a little overzealous in patrolling the bars in the area (as mentioned in the above linked Freep article). It was obvious during sobriety tests Lewand was heavily intoxicated. He originally denies drinking, and the sheriff has issues with Lewand not wanting to take a breathalyzer test. Lewand finally acquiesces.
The clip ends with Lewand being handcuffed, and led away by an occifer...uh, I mean...officer.
Two questions now come to mind. One, was Lewand drinking heavily during the Matt Millen years? It might explain the series of stupid free agent contracts the Lions handed out like so much candy. Two, did working with the idiot Millen drive Lewand to drink?
OK, I admit I'm being half serious....but be honest, as the details of Lewand's adventures in northern Michigan trickle out, it has you wondering, doesn't it?
In non-DUI related news (FINALLY!), the Lions announced they've signed one of their 7th round draft picks, the second player to agree to a deal. The first being their 4th round selection out of the U, OT Jason Fox, who came to terms with the team late last week. (while TWFE was having server issues)
The Detroit Lions have signed seventh-round defensive end Willie Young, according to a league source.
Young signed a three-year, $1.26 million contract that includes a bonus of almost $48,000 and the standard base salaries of $320,000, $405,000 and $490,000.
Selected 213th overall out of North Carolina State, Young started 36 games and recorded 194 career tackles, 20 sacks, 46 tackles for losses and 29 quarterback pressures.
No word if the negotiations were held while under the influence. (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)
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